Next UT coach is tangled in the Web

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly winks as he watchers the action on the field during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Monday, Sept. 9, 2013. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Chip Kelly winks as he watchers the...

SAN ANTONIO — As the Texas Longhorns search for a new football coach, it might be useful to keep an open mind. Remember: One man's whacky conspiracy theory is another man's logical extrapolation of fact.

Take, for example, last week's Orangebloods.com report that Mack Brown was going to step down as Longhorns coach, even though Brown said repeatedly he was staying.

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Even though the Tide didn't make the SEC championship game, Alabama's brass suddenly offered him a lucrative contract extension.

Brown denied the report, as did UT, Alabama and Saban. It seemed like a perfect storm of Web-based bologna, with Orangebloods left to twist in the wind.

Then, a bunch of weird events took place.

Brown came home from a recruiting trip, ate dinner with his team Friday night, and quit the next day. Over in the Heart of Dixie, Saban agreed to his new deal sometime between the salad and the entrée being served in Austin on Friday night.

Ahem. I think several million people owe Orangebloods an apology.

Chip Brown, the Orangebloods writer who broke the original story, surmised in a Saturday piece that Brown was mad that his resignation leaked. He wanted to keep his dignity and quit when he was good and ready. And, in the process, he wanted to spite the Big Cigars who wanted Saban. It all seems very petty, but it definitely makes sense.

Texas is now searching for a new coach. The big list reads like a who's-who of successful coaches. Folks who got their degrees in College Station, Lubbock and Waco are having a good laugh about that list, but it's a nervous laugh.

The Internet got the resignation story right, so now, that rumor mill is a lot more believable. When Horns operatives take to the Web to throw famous names against the wall — i.e., feed them to Orangebloods' Brown and others — a wise person will at least give those names a chance to stick.

Chip Kelly of the Philadelphia Eagles, the sticky wall tells us, has been approached.

Here's what Kelly said, denying reports about listening to the job pitch:

“It's a special place with special people. They accepted me six years ago when I was at New Hampshire. Not many people knew about me. Gave me an opportunity to come here. It really means a lot.”

Oops. My mistake. That was Kelly talking in early January about how he turned down the Eagles and was staying at Oregon.

A week later, Kelly was announced as Philly's coach.

Here's this week's Kelly denial:

“I understand you have to ask the question, but I'm not involved in any jobs. I'm the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles ... and I plan to be here for a while.”

Sure. Name a coach who has changed jobs, and I'll show you a coach who lied about it to someone before he left. Mack Brown lied about leaving North Carolina in 1997.

Given that, as well as the garage-sized leaks and the warehouse of spending cash up in Austin, whacky names that pop up from the Internet may not be whacky after all.